On Nebraska’s NIL Competitiveness

With news about McCord/Raiola et al., I’ve seen lots of people here discussing where Nebraska might slot in in terms of NIL money — both within the B1G and nationally. In no way do I think that we are one of the biggest funds nationally, but I do think it makes sense that we could become one of the top funds in the B1G. Here is my argument:

1. Nebraska, between its first championship and its last (27 years), was *at least* as successful as Alabama has been over the last 27 years. While Alabama has one more championship, they also have the benefit of playing in the CFP era (2014+): in their three titles since, they were only the undisputed #1 in one of them. It’s possible that, without a CFP, they win 1-2 less titles and go to bowl games instead. Stats:

|Team|Years|Championships|Avg Wins|Avg Losses|Win Pct|
:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|
|Alabama|1996-2022|6|10.04|3.15|76%
|Nebraska|1970-1997|5|10.29|1.82|85%

2. The demographic born in/around Nebraska’s first peak (1963-1972) are currently aged between 48-63. This aligns with the typical peak earning years in America of 45-55. Fans that grew up *only knowing* the annual juggernaut version of Nebraska are in their financial prime.

3. The last 10 years have been an absolute tire fire — and the demographic above (who are now at the peak of their careers in terms of influence and wealth) are positioned, via an unregulated NIL, to get their hands directly on the team by donating and buying players. All teams’ alumni want to make the team better, but Nebraska is unique in that the alumni that have the most money spent their formative years watching a nearly unprecedented amount of success.

4. The Huskers have basically no competition for Nebraska-based businesses’ support. There are no professional sports. They are the sole college football program for anyone born there. For example, in Ohio, they have: Bengals, Browns, Cavaliers, Reds, Guardians (ew), Blue Jackets, two MLS teams, tOSU, U-Cincinnati, and even both Kent State and Ohio have higher enrollment than Nebraska.

5. On the same note, we all know the bar trivia stat that Memorial Stadium becomes the ~3rd largest city in the state. Having a nationally relevant football team, and maybe more importantly — nationally relevant players — significantly moves the needle for Lincoln’s businesses. Yeah, the Jeff Sims Combo at Amigos is kind of a funny meme. That’s also because Jeff Sims sucks at football. Imagine what value Suh or T-Magic might’ve brought to a local business that put up NIL money? What if we go back even further — Frazier? Crouch?

6. While the consecutive sellout record has been something of a meme over the last ten years, it still provides evidence that we have one of the most loyal fan bases in CFB. Not only does this show fan engagement, it is also proof of how valuable sponsorships/advertisements for the Huskers are.

What do you think?

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